Classes offered at the 2020 Gathering

Born and raised in Texas, Chris has spent his whole life wandering and exploring the wild places. Fishing along the coast in Corpus Christi, hiking the trails of State Parks across Texas, exploring the piney woods of Big Thicket and discovering all that nature offered as mysteries along the way. After high school Chris traveled across the country taking classes from dozens of different outdoor schools that focused on modern, native and traditional skills of living, as well as leadership, homesteading and permaculture. Beginning in 2009 Chris began working in environmental education for youth and adults teaching outdoor leadership skills, archery, bow making, wildlife tracking, edible plants and survival skills. In 2014 Chris opened Natureversity to help homeschool communities around Austin and Dripping Springs reconnect with nature through the practice of hands-on and passion-led learning while being outside. He lives in Austin Texas, he enjoys traveling to new locations in Texas, making bows and arrows, primitive hunting, fishing and tracking wildlife. 

Chris will be leading our children's education component of SkyEarth.

When Kristina first learned of primitive skills her world drastically changed. A closer walk with nature produced a remarkable life change; she left behind a toxic diet and lifestyle, causing her weight to drop and energy levels to soar! Since that time, she has attended several survival schools and gatherings. She has studied wild edibles and natural medicines which are skills she utilizes on her many outdoor adventures. Kristina has taught wild edibles at multiple survival schools.  Still a student of the natural world herself, she is always excited to share her passion with others. 

 Tony Pike is the founder of Ancient Wisdom Survival School and has been teaching survival skills for over two decades. He grew up in a family that lived a lifestyle of self-reliance, a fact he directly attributes to his intense passion for thriving in a minimalist environment. His father challenged him every day, testing his resolve, something he explains was crucial to the mental resolve needed to survive challenging situations and created the drive to become a nationally ranked power lifter. Because of this self reliant lifestyle he soon developed a deep respect for the ways of the Native Americans' ability to live off the land. 

The youngest of 5 siblings, Tony helped his dad trap, hunt, and fish from a very early age, and takes pride in the fact that he helped feed his family as a young boy. He found his first arrow head at age 7, at which time he became fascinated by seeing how such beautiful creations could be crafted from simple rocks. He went on to explore many primitive skills from that point in his childhood until today. Much of his free time is spent with experimental and amateur archeology.

 Justin Miller will be teaching brain tanning of deer hides to make buckskin at SkyEarth this year! He was born and raised in Henderson County TX. Since he was a he’s had an interest in the ways and skills of our ancestors. Skills like blacksmithing, brain and bark tanning skins, cordage making, primitive fire making etc. The first primitive skill he ever learned was cordage making and it blossomed into more or less an obsession to learn the skills that kept our ancestors alive to make us who we are today. 

Dave Van Hook - aka "Dirty Dave" - has been cold process soap making for over 20 years. For the last seven years he has been teaching hot process soap making at gatherings. 

With a background in project and manufacturing supervision, he started soap making as a hobby in the 90s for family and friends. He began taking it seriously in 2008 when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, realizing that what we put ON our bodies is as important as what we put IN them.  

His first gathering was Winter Count just nine short months following a bone marrow transplant. He attributes much of his recovery from that ordeal to the culture and community of Primitive Skills Gatherings.

Kiowa Sage is a specialist in indigenous pottery craft, primarily originating in the Southwest. He digs his own wild clays and makes his own plant paints and tools from nature. All his pottery is fired outside in a fire pit using prehistoric/traditional techniques.
Kiowa teaches indigenous pottery at local museums, events, private classes, as well as Wintercount Rendezvous and now SkyEarth Gathering.

Matt's primitive skills background started like most as a kid.  He was lucky enough to grow up out in the country and spent all his summers running wild - fishing, hunting, and building shelters (forts in the woods).  When he was 19 he was introduced to archery and spent the next 10 plus years bowhunting everything possible.  His favorite time of the year has always been September in the mountains chasing elk.  Around 2012 he heard about the Rabbitstick gathering in Idaho.   In 2018 he made the long trip and it changed him for good.   Now September is spent in Idaho not elk hunting.  The skills and community he found there are 2nd to none.  Since that trip he's been to seven other gatherings.  He looks forward to teaching and learning new skills at SkyEarth this year.  Some of his favorite skills are fire, camp crafts, atlatls, and knife making.

Largely inspired by his Native American heritage, Phil spends a lot of time in the wild with minimal gear to further his connection with nature. He is the owner and lead instructor of “Primitive Wilderness Survival” and teaches the primitive portion of the Pathfinder instructor course. He has taught alongside and learned from many of the greatest instructors on the planet and put his skills to the test in the Canadian Arctic for a month on the show Alone: The Beast. 

Lacey Proffitt is the part-time Agriculture Lead at Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms, a living history museum showcasing 1800s living in central Texas. Always attracted to the outdoors, she has been fascinated by the interactions and connectivity in natural systems which led her to study biology and the natural sciences in college. She uses this background as well as her Permaculture Design Certificate and study of Holistic Management to create thriving agricultural systems at Pioneer Farms. Her “day job” is running Full Tank Coaching where she coaches individuals toward creating and fulfilling their life’s vision as well as acting as a consultant for businesses on strategic planning and project pursuits.   

This blend of left brain and right brain utilization has given her a natural talent for “water witching” or dowsing. While still new to the craft, she can’t seem to stop herself from dowsing just about any question or object that comes to mind. Can’t find the car keys? Grab the dowsing rods! Wondering where a bee hive is? Grab the dowsing rods! Looking for water lines in the backyard? Grab those dowsing rods! At SkyEarth she’ll give an introduction to water witching and show attendees how to use their own innate subconscious for the craft on their own.